MINNEAPOLIS – With the game’s preeminent shooter Steph Curry sidelined from a second-quarter hamstring injury, a raucous Target Center crowd ready to lose its mind and a Timberwolves offense stocked with high-volume scorers, the odds were stacked against the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
But on Tuesday night, Golden State’s defense was the great equalizer and later the overwhelming advantage in a 99-88 victory that ripped home-court advantage away from the Timberwolves.
And as he has been for the past decade, Draymond Green was the catalyst.
Despite being “deflated” when he received news at halftime that Curry would not return after being diagnosed with a left hamstring strain, Green remained focused on the task at hand.
He ended up taking the air out of the Wolves’ offense.
“Incredible job, incredible game plan put together by CD (Chris DeMarco) and Stack (Jerry Stackhouse), and the guys did a great job of following it,” Green said.
Thirteen players saw playing time for the Warriors, and every single one gave maximum effort on the defensive end.
The numbers bore that out.
Minnesota’s 31 first-half points were the fewest the Warriors franchise had given up in a playoff game since the shot clock’s inception in 1954.
The Timberwolves shot a historically inept 0 for 15 from long range in the first half and ended the night a paltry 5 for 29 on 3-point attempts.
“We flew around, we made extra efforts, which was important,” Green said. “We know this is a very good 3-point shooting team, and we knew we didn’t want to give them uncontested looks. They start hitting their threes, and they can roll.”
The Warriors also held Anthony Edwards to 23 points on 22 shots, including an 0 for 8 to start the game. Buddy Hield took the challenge of guarding one of the game’s superstars and more than held his own at the point of attack.
“You got the toughest matchup in guarding Anthony Edwards,” Jimmy Butler III said to Hield, who was sitting next to him during the press conference. “He came back guarding at a high level and creating and making shots. Two-way player is a stretch, but he’s been key.”
Even though rebounding is not normally associated with defense, Gary Payton II, who returned from illness, said that outrebounding the Wolves 51 to 41 and limiting their offensive rebounds was crucial.
Rudy Gobert had only 11 rebounds, four offensive, after grabbing 24 boards against the Lakers in the fifth and final game of Minnesota’s first-round series.
“We thought we did what we needed to do to limit their shots,” Payton II said. “And the guys went to the glass and rebounded, which we knew was something we didn’t do a great job of in the last series.”
But for as much as the other players contributed to the collective unit, it was, of course, Green who had the greatest impact.
Green came third in defensive player of the year voting, but made a one-game case Tuesday that he should have finished two spots higher.
As the fulcrum of a defense that toggled between man and a 2-3 zone, Green rarely stayed inside. He blitzed ball-handlers before recovering at the rim, and then often made the closeout after a wild Wolves kickout.
It was nothing Kerr had not seen before.
“He was everywhere, he was guarding everyone,” Kerr said after calling Draymond the “greatest defensive player” he had ever seen. “He just has a way of helping every single teammate by being in the right spot and thwarting different advantages the opponent has.”
Thwarting those advantages will be of the utmost importance on Thursday, when the Warriors will likely have to play without Curry. He is scheduled to receive an MRI on Wednesday.
But even if the future Hall of Famer is out for extended time, Green said the team’s standards – and goal – does not waver.
“Obviously things get tougher as we go forward without Steph, but it’s still the same mission,” Kerr said. “We’re trying to keep this thing going and win as many games as we can. So I’m not gonna let that reality set in right now.”